How does a browser become a customer? What is it that makes someone stop scrolling and bond themselves to a brand with interest, a subscription, or a purchase? Through Lead generation. This is what every business should know about lead generation in 2019.

Website first.

A fast, clean website is the first thing to create. Ensure that the company or purpose of the website is clear on the home page. It should load quickly, be mobile-friendly, uncluttered, and well-designed. The navigation should be easy to understand. A disorganized, dated website never gives a visitor confidence.

SEO in focus.

At this point, SEO is the digital marketer’s right hand. However, many of those using SEO are not focusing on making it as effective as possible. The bottom line is that useful, quality, error-free copy is best for search rank. If text is easy to read and answers the question that brought the visitor, consider SEO (mostly) taken care of.

Delve into white papers.

Offering a free download is a great tactic for lead generation in 2019, and white papers are a very popular type of content to produce for this. Visitors already know that white papers are wall-to-wall information, value, expertise. The promise of something useful makes it easier for them to submit their email address.

Therefore, if the white paper fulfills its intended purpose (providing true and relevant information the visitor was searching for), there are now more opportunities to take the lead further.

Offer customized advice.

The online quiz is very helpful to companies who are offering diverse or customized product lines. Websites that sell skincare, cosmetics, and personal wellness products owe a lot of their sales to this tactic.

The potential consumer answers questions about themselves and receives information and recommendations based on their answers. Now a great deal of their decision-making is taken care of; an expert has a specific product just for them.

Go the extra mile with customer service.

Everyone has been to a website with a live chat box. The live chat box has been used by websites that didn’t need one, making them an annoyance to some. However, they are an absolute miracle for eCommerce sites. Customers love not having to navigate a site to find an answer to their question.

It also takes less effort to ask a live representative than it does to write an email. It’s always best to resolve someone’s hesitations without making them click away from the site.

Write an eBook.

A white paper invite on a landing page does well, but there’s something even better – a whole eBook. Lead generation in 2019 is sometimes about who can most comprehensively master a topic. When the topic is right, people who use this as lead generation can find that they are now the person who wrote the book on what a particular niche needs.

It becomes something people pass on to others, that peers cite in their content. That makes the author a bona fide expert, which naturally pulls tons of leads.

Ask existing customers to help.

While growing your email subscriber list, reach out to those who have already signed up. Ask them to leave a review on any available platforms. It is best not to offer incentives to do this, as it may have to be stated in the review. Consumers find such reviews unreliable.

But look at it this way – if there are 80 people on the list, and seven take the time to write that review, online credibility still gets a substantial boost. Consumers trust other consumers equally, if not more, than businesses.

Do the research.

If trends, statistics, and other facts support a businesses’ aims, why wouldn’t one want visitors to know? Not a white paper, and not an eBook, a research report serves as a collection of sources that support a business mission. This is a popular practice among businesses that sell health-related products, like supplements. They gather scientific information that supports their product, as well as excerpted material from other experts. When presented all together in a neat report, it makes a pretty great case for their product.

Blogs.

When it comes to lead generation in 2019, blogs are underrated. This is most likely because on-the-spot purchases don’t often come from blogs. They are more for entertainment and information.

However, those who have trouble drumming up traffic need to get serious about blogging right away. With regular, consistent posts, brands have ample opportunity to get traffic from highly specific key phrases lacking big competition. This brings their post way up in search results. And if a blog post does not spike traffic and therefore generate leads as hoped? There’s always next week.

Video.

Sometimes, brands invest quite a bit in producing eBooks and white papers but see fewer downloads than projected. Video is a great vehicle for lead-generating content.

For example, a brand can make a how-to video and upload it to YouTube. The link to the white paper or eBook can be included in the video, as well as in the video description. The best part is that the video does not have to reveal so much as to make the viewer think the written content is unnecessary.

Engage in dialogue.

Some people will be drawn in by an exchange, rather than a talking-to. Interacting with others is a good, low-pressure way to draw people closer. For example, it should come as no surprise that lead generation in 2019 involves social media. Ask a question and join the conversation in the comments. This is also a great way to get useful product feedback.

Working with other brands or influencers works, too. Ask for a mention on someone else’s blog, or guest post. Hire influential people to talk about a product or service, getting their audience in on the action. Engagement can also be a live Q&A session following a webinar.

One final thought here is that the dialogue does not have to brand-focused. Starting general conversations that have nothing to do with sales do still help with trust and recognition. When one does drop a link in a subsequent post, the audience will be more inclined to click.